A breast cancer survivor, who underwent a double mastectomy where her nipples were cut off thought out the best ways to reclaim her body and went for a 4-hour long tattoos on the severed part.
Nikki Black wouldn’t be any prouder of the tattoos which according to her, allowed her to take back control of her body and ‘feel whole again’.
25-year-old Black, a comedian based in Los Angeles, had the life-saving mastectomy at the age of 23.
She said: “For me, the tattoos were really about reclaiming my body as my own. In addition to the multiple surgeries and losing feeling in your chest, you get cut open so many times in so many ways, and I wanted to feel whole again.”
Metro UK reports that Black was devastated when she received the life-changing diagnosis two years ago. She was told she had breast cancer in mid-June and underwent a double mastectomy in July.
Doctors placed expanders in her chest at the time of her mastectomy and she then had receive chemo before she could start reconstructive surgery.
According to her, the side effects of the chemo were ‘horrible’.
During treatment, she had to be rushed to hospital due to a blood clot in her heart. She was later told her heart had stopped for a few seconds.
After all that trauma to her body, Nikki started to think about how she could take back control. Deciding against nipple reconstruction, she contacted Holly Feneht from The Gilded Lily Design, who designs body art for breast cancer survivors.
She said: “I honestly never really considered getting nipples again. I figured, “I’ve done that, it’s probably time for something new.”
“Women get some really gorgeous designs and thinking about what I might get was one of the few bright, hopeful things I had while going through treatment.”
Her original idea was to get hearts instead of nipples but, working with Holly, she eventually fell in love with an Art Nouveau design.
She explains: “We also talked about incorporating the Pisces fish because I am a Pisces, but they also remind me of the Koi fish in my mom’s pond out back, where I used to sit and meditate while going through chemo. It’s nice to have a happy place on my own body, and she still managed to work the hearts in!
“The tattoos took four hours. ‘It was a very emotional night.
“Immediately afterward, I felt dizzy and a little faint, but still so incredibly pleased and light in spite of it all.
“The next day, of course, I couldn’t stop texting photos of them to my friends. I sort of wish I could walk around with a shirt off all the time – that’s how much I love them.”
“They feel like armor, like protection against world. I get to choose what my body looks like.”
Below are the photos. (Click on any image to enlarge).
